Moving ethernet to back of NESPI case

caver01

Well, I finally made some progress worth sharing. I cut a hole and installed an RJ45 jack that I salvaged from an old router into the back of my NESPI case. Everything is setup and ready to go. All I have to do is run my internal patch cable to the Pi. There should be enough room to leave the existing plug in there underneath my replacement. This will inactivate the front ethernet jack. Maybe I will put something in front of that to prevent someone from wasting time with it. Anyway, here are some progress pics with more to come.

quicksilver

@caver01 looks good! I will never understand why they decided to put the Ethernet connection in the front in the first place.

Drakaen391

@quicksilver I am guessing where the module is... then it became consistency

Drakaen391

where did you find that port?

Looks really clean

caver01

@drakaen391 I harvested it from an old router. Desoldered, then whipped up a custom board with header pins. Epoxy keeps my work protected.

quicksilver

@drakaen391 I was referring to the nespi case. Or did I misunderstand what you meant?

Drakaen391

@quicksilver oh, I thought you meant the Pi itself

caver01

I just completed the mod and tried it. Everything works as it should. Here is the final image before putting it back together. I have to open and close it like a clamshell, but I built it with the header pins so everything can come apart if needed.

caver01

I added a textured ABS coverslip that I am using to block the stock ethernet port. This is the same material I laminated to build the tiny black "wall" holding up one side of my new ethernet port. It is leftover textured ABS sheeting used to build my Roadcase Cocktail cabinet. But, you could just use a piece of tape I guess, or leave it. I wanted to block it.

quicksilver

@caver01 you could also cover the hole and put some type of decal over it to cover it up. On a side note, I see that retroflag came out with an updated case today that has safe shutdown/reset included. They didn't move the Ethernet connection though which I feel was a missed opportunity.

caver01

@quicksilver yeah, that new case would reclaim so much space and screwing around. Looks like they made it work with a single switch. Nicely done.

jerryfudd

felt inspired and did the same :)
alt text

alt text

Dan

caver01

@jerryfudd oh, excellent job. I like your location better than mine.

cyperghost

@jerryfudd Nicely done ;) I see you've a NESPi+ ...
Nobody clears that question and I can only assume because of the python code used to shutdown. Can you affirm that a total shutdown (poweroff) isn't available? You will see, that on the Pie the red LED will still glow after shutdown ;)

Drakaen391

Even enough space for the average laptop fan

Evert

@caver01 said in Moving ethernet to back of NESPI case:

RJ45 jack

That's brilliant, they should make them like that to begin with.

mcjacksebastian

I see that many of you irritate sockets under the flap in NesPi Case. I do not know why the producer placed them in this place. Probably the print on the flap itself is easier technologically, so this is the idea to put these nests forward - in a word, aesthetic and functional misunderstanding. In the front there should be only 2 USB ports for Joypads.

I use 3.5 "HDD connected via USB, and Ethernet sockets - I decided to move everything to the back of the casing.The first plan was to transfer the original PCB module from under the flap to the back of the case, but after calculations, however, I could not do it very well. Placing two USB sockets and an Ethernet socket has become quite difficult.

Finally, I came up with the idea that I would design a simple PCB without any electronic components to place the sockets in the right places. I decided to fix the plate with screws to a piece of a plastic plate, so that the whole thing can be glued non-invasively with a double-sided adhesive tape.

When I cut the Ethernen socket I made a little too big hole and then I put on a small mask to improve the look. It came out nice and functional but it's a huge mass of work and probably the second time I would not want to do it.

caver01

@mcjacksebastian Excellent work! I really love your solution. Making a PCB is a good, strong method. It is a bit beyond what I was able to do, but I do like that you included the USB ports. So, now you have a NESPi with six (6) USB ports. Nicely done.

I do agree, modifying the case is very involved and you have to be really careful when making and enlarging the holes so that they are in the perfect place and be careful not to scratch the rest of the case with your tools.

In the end, I think it is worth it. I wish I had the ribbon cable RJ45 when I made mine. That would have made everything easier too.

mcjacksebastian

Thanks a lot! I used the original Rj45 cable from the NESpi enclosure - it's a bit short but it worked! I would prefer the Ethernet socket to be on the right side but mine did not fit in here.
I noticed that you also changed the power supply of the fan to 3.3 V - noise reduction by 80%. :-)

caver01

@mcjacksebastian Oh I see. You desoldered the ethernet cable from the existing jack PCB and added it to your custom board. Nice.

Yes, I have the fan running off 3.3v which is slower, and probably hotter, but I have not seen the overheat issues so this works well for me.